The superhero craze is the media will never get old. Everyone loves superheroes! Both kids and grown ups are always enthusiastic when they hear about a new superhero movie or TV show, especially when Marvel and DC release their fascinating and mind-blowing movies that are earning millions of dollars all over the world. We all have that one friend that is an avid fan of comics, which are now being brought to life – both on the small screen and the big screen.

The superhero mania has a huge impact on society, especially to kids and teens. People need role models that possess good traits, and superheroes are often perfect role models. Children benefit the most when they are fond of superheroes. Superhero movies are always the story of the battle between good and evil, which can help teach kids what is right and what is wrong. Fantasy and sci-fi films also boosts creativity and imagination, which is important, not just for kids, but also for grown ups, because they encourage thinking outside the box.

Captain America, Superman, Wolverine, and the whole gang of the Avengers, X-Men and the Justice League – all of them are just mere fictional characters that everyone looks up to and somehow idolizes. They are fictional characters, but did you know that superheroes and mutants walk among us? Yes, you read that right! There are incredible people in the world that possess superhero-like abilities. Don’t fret, their real-life superpowers can be explained by science.

Brace yourself! Here is a list of some of the extraordinary people with real-life superpowers.

15. Solvin

Who says that DC’s Justice League member Aquaman is not real? Meet Solvin, a fisherman that lived in a houseboat. He was once just an ordinary fisherman, but because of his lifestyle, he turned into the real life version of Aquaman with his extraordinary superpowers. Science explained that because of his aquatic life, his body was able to adapt very well with the environment – water.

Solvin became popular because he can swim the ocean at about 20 meters deep, without feeling the pressure of the depth, and he can hold his breath for five minutes, but that is not the greatest ability that made him so amazing. It was his eyes that really adapted very well. He can see crystal clear at the bottom of the ocean, because his irises constrict underwater and rather than expand.

14. Daniel Browning

Mr. Fantastic and Plastic Man also have their own real life version, but he can’t stretch really far. However, you’ll find yourself in awe when you see how flexible he is! Daniel Browning, also known as the Rubber Boy, is an actor, television host, comedian, and most importantly, a contortionist. Unlike other contortionists, Rubber Boy is the most flexible person in history and a holder of seven Guinness World Records.

How can he do this? Rubber Boy has a rare medical condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) that was a result of an abnormal mutation of genes. (Yes, genes do mutate just like in X-Men!) People affected with EDS have stretchy skin and very flexible joints, just like Rubber Boy. While some types of EDS result in a normal life expectancy, there are very rare types of EDS that affect the blood vessels, which can lead to a shorter life expectancy.

13. Slavisa Pajkic

Controlling and harnessing electricity is one the coolest superpowers in the superhero universe – Black Lightning, Volt, and even the villain Livewire, Supergirl’s nemesis. In Serbia, they have a real-life superhuman with the ability to master electricity. Slavisa Pajkic is a Guinness Book of World Records holder, because of his ability to let 20,000 volts of electricity pass through him without feeling pain and shock.

Pajkic can turn his body into an insulator, conductor, and even a heater. He can even cook sausages and boil water with just the use of his body heat. What’s odd is he also claimed that shock and electricity just refresh and energize him.

12. Tim Cridland

Invulnerability and high pain tolerance are some of the most amazing superpowers that Superman, Captain America, and other superheroes have. (Super villains also possess these abilities.) In reality, there is a man who is willing to skewer himself in every part of his body and will never feel pain. His name is Tim Cridland and he is quite famous with his stage name Zomora the Torture King. His performance does not end in skewering himself up. He also performs impressive stunts, including fire walking, electrocuting, and laying on a bed of nails.

Science has an explanation about this. Doctors said that Cridland’s nerves are not responding to pain, wherein his brain does not receive a signal from nerves and will not react to pain. In short, he does not know what pain is, making him a superhuman.

11. Veronica Seider

Superheroes that have super visual acuity or enhanced vision can see everything, even at a very far distance, just like Falcon. There are also superheroes that always have an accurate shot like Green Arrow and Hawkeye, or a super villain who will never miss a shot like Deadshot. In reality, there was a woman who can identify people and objects at a very far distance.

In 1972, the University of Stuggart in Germany reported that their student Veronica Seider has a visual acuity that is 20 times better than a normal person’s. It was proven that she has an eagle eye identifying people at a 1.6 kilometer distance. With her ability, she is a Guinness Book of World Records holder, and still undisputed until today.

10. Kevin Richardson

Lots of superheroes are imagined to have animal-like superpowers – Batman, Spiderman, Wolverine, and plenty more! There are also superheroes that can use different animal abilities like DC’s Vixen, the first DC African-American superhero who harnesses her powers through a totem. There is a man who can calm animals just like Vixen.

Kevin Richardson was just a simple South African animal behaviorist until he decided to follow his intuition and interact with lions and other clans of big cats to extensively provide care to them. He is able to touch, cuddle, and even stay in the wild with wild animals, hence, the name the Lion Whisperer. When he is with the animals, one can see that a lion can be a peaceful animal living in harmony with a human.

9. Daniel Temmet

There are superheroes that use intelligence and other mental powers, including Iron-Man, Reed Richards, Vibe or Cisco Ramon, and Mister Terrific, and then there are monstrous villains that are even more intelligent like DC’s The Thinker. In real life, there are people that possess super intelligence like Daniel Temmet. He was diagnosed with Savant Syndrome, a condition, but not a mental disorder, wherein a person exhibits an exceptional brilliance in a specific field.

In Temmet’s case, it is numbers; that’s why he came up with his book “Thinking in Numbers”. He was able to recite Pi at up to 22,514 digits in five hours and nine minutes. There are savants that are clueless about what’s happening to them, but Temmet is different. He described that inside his head, numbers have different textures, colors, and shapes that help him remember effectively.

8. Shakuntala Devi

In reality, there was a person called as the Human Computer, but she’s not like the CW’s Overwatch or Felicity Smoak who is a super hacker. Shakuntala Devi is more like a human calculator because of her ability to perform calculations mentally – not just simple calculations, but really complex ones. During her time, she was even faster than calculators.

As early as the age of 6 years, Devi already demonstrated her abilities in computing and memorizing numbers at the University of Mysore. While a lot people were unsure that she is really the Human Computer, she underwent a lot of tests. The University of California Berkley once asked her the cube root of 61,629,875 and seventh root of 170,859,375 and she answered these accurately. Because of her exceptional skills, she earned a spot on the Guinness Book of World Records.

7. Harold Williams

X-Men’s Cypher is a superhero that has the ability to cipher and understand any language. In reality, there was a man who can speak, understand, and write 58 languages that are all over the world. His name was Harold Williams, a linguist, journalist, The Times editor, and a polyglot. In fact, he was the most accomplished polyglot in human history. He was able to master different languages with Latin being its root.

When he was 7 years old, he said that he felt an explosion inside his head that sparked him to be eager to learn different languages. He spent his entire life traveling, exploring, writing, and learning how to speak, understand, and write the different languages and dialects of the world. He also had some important impacts on the writing industry.

6. Stephen Wiltshire

Some of the superheroes have excellent photographic and eidetic memories, including Batman, Superman, and Captain America. While there are really people with photographic memory, Stephen Wiltshire, an architectural artist, is extra-special. He may be known because of his artwork, his reputation as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), and his gallery on the Royal Opera Arcade in London, but there is really one thing that made him so accomplished – his extraordinary photographic memory.

He draws an entire city without any model – his cheat sheet is just his memory. How did he accomplish such art pieces? For example, his drawings of the 305 square miles New York City and 4 square miles London were done just by having a brief helicopter ride.

5. Wim Hof

There are no other cooler superheroes than the superheroes with the icy and snowy superpowers. Fictional characters like DC’s Captain Cold and Killer Frost, and Marvel’s Iceman are so cool that they can harness and manipulate ice. In real life, the world has Wim Hof, a Dutch daredevil who has a hobby of collecting Guinness World Records.

Hof is known for his cold tolerance. He was able to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Everest wearing shorts and swim under ice water, making him the Iceman. How can he do that? He claimed that he uses a breathing meditation that can make him invulnerable to cold and can enhance his immune system to avoid any hazardous and dangerous effects of below zero temperatures.

4. Dean Karnazes

The Flash and Quicksilver may have no real-life counterpart, because their super speed is even faster than the speed of light. (CW’s Flash can even run at Mach 50 after getting out of the speed force). However, the world has a super runner, not boasting super speed, but super endurance! Dean Karnazes is a marathon runner that has the record of running for 50 days in 50 marathons that is held in 50 states, with no rest. He also ran for three consecutive days, all without stopping and sleeping.

Doctors say that Karnazes’ ability to run like this is because of his muscles that are able to work longer. He also has more blood flowing in his circulatory system, giving him the stamina and strength to run for days. So, run, Dean, run!

3. Ben Underwood

Some people might say that Daredevil’s abilities are complete fiction. How can a blind man be so accurate? Well, the answer is echolocation and this is real. The proof was Ben Underwood – an inspirational teenager who gave an amazing story of hope. He was diagnosed with retinal cancer as early as 2 years old. During his toddler years, his eyes were removed and this is where his amazing journey started. He discovered that he had an echolocation skill – when he clicked his tongue, objects surrounding him gave him echo; therefore, gave him a picture of what was happening in his surroundings. (Yes, just like Daredevil, indeed!)

His life as a teenager was not limited – he can skate, ride a bike, run, skip, play, climb a tree, and just like Daredevil, he even knew martial arts! However, our real life Daredevil Underwood had a short life expectancy because of his retinal cancer and passed away when he was 16 years old.

2. Isao Machii

Marvel’s Silver Samurai and DC’s Katana are the famous sword-fighting superheroes that boast their super reflexes in fighting. A super swordsman is living among us and yes, he is Japanese. Isao Machii, a Japanese Iaido master, has been collecting Guinness World Records because of his super reflexes. He can cut a tennis ball with a 440 mph speed and cut an arrow in half. (You now know that Machii can beat Green Arrow and Hawkeye.)

Machii’s amazing katana skills do not just end there. There was an experiment that was conducted professionally, where he was able to cut an Airsoft pellet mid-air. Everyone was amazed because a pellet is very small and it travels 160 feet per second, making it almost not visible to the naked eye. Now there’s a proof that Kenshin is real.

1. Liam Hoekstra

Everyone loves the fact that superheroes like Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, the Hulk, and Captain America have super strength that can knock the villains out. Today, a superhuman with super strength is living among us. No, he’s not an alien from Krypton or a super soldier, but he is a kid. Liam Hoekstra is the real life super kid with superhero strength. Doctors diagnosed him with Myostatin – a genetic condition wherein Hoekstra’s body cuts down all the fats, making room for more muscle development.

So, what can young Kal-El do? When he was six months, he was able to stand on his own two feet. At the age of 3 years, he was able to lift furniture that is not easy to lift. At the age of 4 years, he can do a lot of things and he was six times stronger than an adult. What more can he do now and in the future? He’s indeed a superhuman!